Hunger - Lost in the Woods
by Bunni Munchies
Summary: Miranda, Courtney, Ginger, and Lois are lost in the woods after a car accident. Hungry and lost, these four now must find a way to get back home. A commission for a DeviantArt user named JJWsmith.


The radio buzzed with an indistinguishable tune as Lois was driving. She peered into the rear view mirror and saw the girls sleeping against one another; Courtney was sleeping on Miranda's shoulder and Miranda was sleeping with her face pressed against window. Ginger was sitting up front with her in the passenger's seat in a deep sleep.

Lois rubbed her stomach as it growled, "Ah man, I'm running on empty. I better find a diner; I'm starving. Man my belly could use a good sloppy joe right about now."

She pat her stomach tenderly as it began to growl a little louder, but in her distraction, Lois failed to see a deer that jumped into the road, "Woah!" She swerved off the road and found herself driving down the dirt road. She could hear the girls screaming behind her, but she was far too focused on the obstacles before her; trees, rocks, pot holes, she did her best to avoid them, but crashing was inevitable. She finally hit something, and darkness descended upon her; Lois black out.

"My god I am starving!" Lois heard as she was starting to come to. She heard the loud rumble of Miranda's stomach as the girl rubbed her stomach, "I'm so hungry! I told you we should've ate something before we left. My stomach feels like it's caving in on itself."

Lois shook her head, "You girls okay?" She looked them over as she rubbed her own stomach feeling a bit queasy; aside from a few nicks and bruises here and there, the girls appeared to be fine. She looked up the hill that they fell down, "There's no way we'll be able to go back up the way we came," the girls looked apprehensive, "don't worry though. Hopefully the car's just fine."

"Oh I wish Winston was here" Courtney whined, "he would've made us something to eat. I'm absolutely famished!" She patted her flat stomach dramatically as her stomach shook and growled in need, "I could really go for a delicious bowl of Soupe à l'oignon, now that would make my stomach happy." Courtney made a rounding motion on her stomach to indicate how distended her belly would become after eating the French onion soup. She sighed gleefully as she pat her stomach again.

Ginger looked around, "Uh, sorry Courtney, but I don't think you'll find any that around here." Her stomach proceeded to growl, "But that does sound good…whatever it is. My belly could use some food right now."

Miranda looked over to Ginger, "Of course you wouldn't know what it is." Ginger scowled and then walked away; she was beginning to regret offering to carpool with Miranda and Courtney.

Lois looked around, looking for the car. Her stomach growled in frustration; she, like the other girls, had not eaten before leaving; they were going to eat when they arrived at the destination since Courtney made them run a bit late. "Please girls, don't talk about food right now. My stomach's killing me. A ha! There it is."

There the car was, wedged in a few feet of mud; that car wasn't coming out anytime soon, especially on its own. "We're a bit outta luck girls; looks like we have two options, we'll have to walk or try pulling the car out."

"Walk!?" Courtney shrieked, "I dare say not!" She flipped her hair and took out her phone as her stomach growled once more, and once more, Courtney patted it dramatically, "I'll call Winston! He'll pick us up, make us food, and we'll be out in no time. I'm way too hungry, to…to…to walk!" Courtney exclaimed, the last word she spat out with disgust as if she couldn't fathom nor entertain the idea for a moment.

Courtney slammed her hand against her stomach, "Will you please be quiet tummy?! I know you're hungry; I get it!"

Miranda also took out her cell phone, as did Lois. Ginger, not having a cell phone of her own, walked over to the girls, only to have Miranda and Courtney simultaneously scream out in frustration. "What's wrong!?" Ginger asked.

Ginger rubbed her stomach, she was starting to feel the pangs of hungry too, and, as if her stomach was agreeing with her thoughts, it let out a loud and angry growl, "I hope it's not anything big because we could really use some food; I'm getting really really hungry. My stomach feels like it's concaving in."

"I can't get any signal!" Courtney started violently pressing the buttons on her phone harder, assuming that it would somehow magically provide her with signal. Her stomach growled, only to further her frustration, "What did I say belly?!" she pat her stomach harder with frustration, "I know you're hungry!"

Miranda clicked her tongue, "I can't get any signal either. Stupid phone…" She looked towards Ginger, "I knew carpooling in **your** car was a bad idea; we should've taken Courtney's car, but no, you were worried about attracting too much attention in a limo. Now look at us," Miranda yelled throwing her arms up in the air, her stomach growled louder as if to mimic her cries, "We're lost, cold, and now we're all going to starve!" Her stomach growled again and she rubbed it to quell it's anger.

"God my stomach! I feel like it's going to implode because of you! If it's even possible, my stomach is feeling emptier than your brain."

"Now girls," Lois walked up closer to try to intervene, "don't worry. We all need to settle down. Why don't we set up camp for the night? It's getting late and we," her stomach growled again, as did Ginger's and Courtney's from the way they were clutching their bellies, "and our stomachs could use the rest. We'll start off fresh in the morning." Lois patted her stomach, "And hopefully we'll find some food for our tummies, cause God knows we're all starving and running on empty."

Lois did not tell the other girls, but she was probably hungrier than they were, given that she skipped dinner last night because of her diet, "Oh, my stomach."

"Set up camp?! Like a bunch of animals?!" Courtney went from rubbing her stomach to, basically, gripping onto it like it was her life line. Whether out of shock or legitimate starvation, it was difficult to tell.

"I might be as hungry as a bear, but that doesn't mean that I want to live like one!" Her stomach growled again, "Belly what did I say?!"

"It's not so bad Courtney," Ginger tried to soothe the blonde drama queen, "Mom usually has some emergency camping supplies in the back of the car." Luckily for the group, the car took a nose dive into the mud, so it wouldn't be as difficult to get the needed supplies. Ginger grabbed her stomach as it went from a subtle growl to a might roar, "and hopefully there's some food in there too, cause we could all use some food to eat. My belly is killing me, and I know there were some Cheesy Puffs in the back from a few camping trips ago."

Lois shook her head, "Sorry Ging, Carl ate all of the food on our last camping trip; I haven't had a chance to refill it yet." Her stomach growled in protest as she rubbed her belly trying to soothe it. But her stomach screamed even louder in protest, "When I get my hands on that kid I'm gonna…ohh I'm so hungry. You girls were right about feeling like your stomach was eating itself." her stomach yelled louder as if punishing her for that thought, "I swear if my belly wasn't attached to me I'd throw it out to shut it up!"

"Forget that, we need to get food, and now!" Miranda screamed at the top of her lungs, her stomach was killing her; she was sure it was caving in on itself. Just then a squirrel popped out of the bushes; it squeaked and scuttled by the girls.

"What the hell?" Miranda shrieked.

The girls' stomachs all simultaneously growled as they stared at the, soon to be, hopefully, cooked morsel. "My stomach is so empty, I'm even tempted to eat that squirrel!" Courtney said patting her stomach as she walked closer and closer to the rodent. Courtney, in normal circumstances, would have never otherwise even considered or entertained the thought, but her survival instincts were kicking in and, with her stomach growling louder than a bear, she was willing to do anything to satiate that hunger.

Miranda pat her growling belly, "Come here little squirrel, and get into Mama's belly. I'm famished~"

Ginger's stomach started to growl as well, as if sensing the possibility of food. She pat it and looked at the squirrel apologetically, "Sorry little guy, but we are so hungry, and I don't know if my belly can take it anymore."

Lois looked in the direction of the squirrel, rather than stopping the girls, or helping them, she preferred to stay on the sidelines; there was no way that a woman of her age would be able to keep up with a squirrel, and, odds were, the kids weren't going to be able to catch the squirrel.

The other girls approached the squirrel, hoping to corner it, but, as Lois predicted, Miranda's belly roared with the intensity of a mountain lion just then, damaging their chances as catching the squirrel. The little guy popped its head up and sprinted out of the girls' reaches and up a tree. "Oh Miranda! You let it get away!"

"Well sorry Ginger! I'm starving; I don't get to control when my stomach decides it wants to yell or not!" Miranda rubbed her stomach again, "Honestly. Man! My stomach is so empty I could eat just about anything right now!" Miranda huffed and walked a few feet away from the group.

"First things first," Lois walked over and opened the trunk of the car; it was a good thing that the girls remembered to rescue the keys to the car when they were pulling her out, "We need to pull this car out."

Lois grabbed the rope and tied it securely to the back of the car's bumper. The girls began to walk over, "Man am I hungry. You sure you don't have food in there mom? Anything? Even scraps?"

Ginger's stomach growled again, and, whether out of pain, annoyance, or, even, instinct at this point, Ginger rubbed her stomach. Her stomach quieted down to a purr, but it was still empty and upset, "I think all of our bellies could use something, anything really."

"Sorry Ging, I told ya. Nothing but some camping supplies to get us through the night." Lois' stomach growled again as did Courtney and Miranda's, "Now everybody grab a hold and pull."

"Ew, I do not want to touch that, it's gross." Courtney shied away from grabbing the rope.

"You want to walk then?" Miranda asked grabbing the rope with one hand and her stomach in the other.

Courtney's tummy growled in protest, "Well…**FINE** so long as it gets food into my belly faster. I expect a warm hot meal in my tummy at the end of this day."

"I'll give you a knuckle sandwich in your gut if you don't stop yammering! My belly's probably emptier than yours."

Courtney flipped her hair as she grabbed the rope, "As if Miranda, I seem to recall _somebody_ taking more than one serving of Mama's famous casserole yesterday?"

"Alright girls enough! We're all hungry, all our stomachs are empty, and talking about food, it's not helping."

"Sorry Mrs. Foutley" cried the two girls. The stomachs growled in synchronized chorus as did their proclamation, "Oh my belly's so empty!" The two proceeded to rub their stomachs. They all needed food, and their hunger was only adding to the agitation of the situation.

Everyone grabbed the ends of the rope, "Alright everyone! On three, one, two, three!"

With that, the girls began to pull the rope as hard as they could. Even Courtney, who was normally against manual labor, and Miranda, who was very much the same, began to tug and help. The two felt delirious and very tired; their stomachs growled in hunger, and it was difficult for them to think straight with an empty, seemingly self-imploding, stomach.

Miranda loosened the pull on her other hand and began to pat her belly, "I swear, if I don't get some food in my belly soon, someone's gonna pay. I need something, anything in my gut!"

At this point, however, Miranda was honestly complaining just to complain; she didn't have the energy as her belly started growling again.

After another strong tug, the car was out of the mud and back on land, "Well that saves us the trouble of having to pitch up a tent; us and our bellies will sleep in the car tonight and we'll start our search in the morning."

Too tired to argue, all the girls piled into the car in their original seats gripping onto their stomachs. Their stomachs growled through the, otherwise, peaceful and tranquil night. A few of them woke up throughout the night because of their bellies. They could do nothing but complain, and silently went back to sleep.

Lois awoke with a start as she heard Miranda scream out, "MY GOD I'M SO HUNGRY!" followed by a loud roar, presumably, from her stomach. Miranda held her belly as she crouched on the floor; it looked as if she was very close to crying, "Mrs. Foutley I think my stomach is eating itself alive."

Lois, being the nurse that she was, walked over to Miranda and checked her over, "You'll be find sweetie, they're just typical hunger pangs; they will subside soon."

Courtney was trying to soothe Miranda while Ginger awkwardly watched from the sidelines, "Hopefully we get food soon mom. My stomach kept me up all night; I couldn't sleep with how loud it was growling."

"We'll have to look for a place eat or try hunting if we want food," Lois started, "we best go now while there's still sunlight." She laughed in an attempt to make humor and light of the situation, "Maybe if we're lucky our bellies will break off and we won't have to worry about it anymore."

Courtney's stomach growled louder and she rubbed it furiously, "I know you're hungry belly, but you better not break off! It's your fault I'm starving, so you better not leave me belly!" Clearly, Courtney didn't understand the joke.

The girls silently followed Lois. They trekked for hours and hours on end looking for something that they could possibly eat, but most of the food that they came across was either poisonous or it was far too difficult to catch. Lois' voice growled, out of instinct she patted it, "God dang it, where is the food? It's been hours and my stomach really does feel close to jumping away. Man my tummy is emptier than a clothing store during Black Friday."

"Mrs. Foutley, are we going to get food soon? I'm so hungry, and my belly is so empty!"

"I'm looking Courtney, but so far everything is poisonous, better to just wait out the hunger than eat it; it'll make your stomach worse." 

"But Mrs. Foutley, I need to have my six small meals daily, otherwise it'll mess up my entire eating regiment!" Her stomach growled louder as she rubbed it, "My stomach is so vacant I could drive a car through it! I'm so hungry Mrs. Foutley!"

"Come on Courtney, it's not so bad," Ginger tried to reason, "I mean," she let out a forced chuckle to lighten the mood, "at least we have bellies right? Like they didn't fall off during the crash?"

Ginger's stomach growled loudly and she rubbed it, "My stomach's hungry too Courtney, we just have to stay positive."

Courtney fell to her knees, "Winstooon! Winstooon!" She screamed, "I need food and I need it now!" Her stomach, though always thin, was getting louder and louder as the day went on. At this point, Courtney had given up simply patting her stomach and was close to slapping it to keep it quiet.

"I know it's hard Courtney, but we'll find food soon, you'll see. Soon your empty belly will be filled with a ton of Winston's meals." Lois tried comforting the young girl, but with her own stomach growling out of frustration, it was difficult for her to even convince herself.

"But I'm hungry now! I want food now Mrs. Foutley. My stomach is so hungry, my belly is getting louder, and I want to go home! I have no food inside of my stomach, and I haven't eaten since two days ago at dinner!" She rubbed her stomach furiously as it growled loudly, as if challenging Courtney as she was yelling.

Miranda looked close to pulling her hair out; she grabbed Courtney's hand and yanked her up, "Look, we're **ALL** hungry okay Courtney?! We all want food! And," Miranda's stomach rumbled again, to which Miranda quickly rubbed her stomach rather roughly to quell it, "we're all sick of your whining! My stomach is emptier than yours, and if not, then it is just as empty. So stop your whining!" Ginger would've normally stepped in for Courtney, but, at the moment, even she was too tired to intervene, and even she was getting tired of Courtney's dramatic exclamations.

Courtney just got up with a soft, "Sorry," and continued walking beside the group. Miranda's stomach growled, and, as if to apologize, Courtney pat Miranda's stomach as she muttered, "We're all so hungry and all our tummies ache."

Ginger walked closer to her mother as her stomach began to growl again, "Mom, are we lost?"

"Of course not Ging, we just…don't know exactly where we are," Lois' stomach growled as she pat it, "Look I know you're hungry; we're all hungry, and I'm doing my best to find something for you girls. My belly is killing me with how much it's yelling out."

Ginger nodded, it was really the best that she could hope for at the moment; her mom was amazing, but even she couldn't pull food out of thin air. She rubbed her belly unconsciously as the continued to walk.

They walked aimlessly for hours, just trying to find something, anything, anyone, but there was nothing for what seemed like miles of just grass and trees. Lois, finally having enough, grabbed a stick and opened her purse.

Just then her stomach growled and she rubbed her belly, "We might not get to find food today, but at least we can hunt. We're all starving! The least we can do is get fish into our stomachs. Any kind of fish will do, we just need to have something in our empty tummies."

"What're you gonna do Mrs. Foutley?" Courtney walked up behind Lois as peered over her shoulder curiously.

"I'm going to try," she pulled out some dental floss from her purse, "to make a fishing rod. We can catch some fish, cook it right up, and have ourselves a nice meal. How's a full belly tonight sound?"

It was now Miranda's stomach that growled loudly, whether in protest or cheering, it seemed irrelevant, as the noise grew louder than a stadium of cheers. Miranda patted her belly in excitement, "Anything to get more food, I'm absolutely starving! I don't care what we eat, I just need something in my belly right now!"

Lois tied a strand of dental floss to the end of the stick and threw it out into the water, "Here goes nothing!"

They waited and waited, but, aside from the sound of their thundering bellies, there was very little activity that went on, "Where's the fish?!" Miranda yelled.

Ginger grabbed her stomach as it screamed in hunger, "Yeah mom, I'm getting really hungry; why is the fish not biting? Ah man my belly, ouch…"

Lois sighed loudly and pat her own screaming stomach, "We don't have any bait to put on the end of it. I was hoping that the mint on the dental floss would have been enough, but I guess not. Guess no full bellies tonight kids."

Courtney began to cry, "So does that mean we don't get food?!"

"Sorry girls, looks like we'll just have to keep walking, empty bellies tonight too." Lois trudged along. Her stomach began growling louder than Ginger's was. She clenched her stomach and pat at it, trying to get it to quiet down, "Man I could go for a good Sloppy Joe right about now."

"Please Mrs. Foutley, don't talk about food." Miranda's face looked sullen and the thought of food made her salivate. She rubbed her stomach as it purred beneath her hand, "I feel like I'm going to die if I don't food soon. My stomach looks like it's eating away at itself, just…just look at it!"

"Come on girls, we better keep moving." Lois tossed the makeshift dental floss fishing rod into the river and watched as it floated away, "We will find something soon, you'll see. And soon our stomachs will be right as rain and full as ever!" She rubbed her stomach some more, "God, but right now my stomach feels so empty and we're just going to have to live with it for now."

Courtney sat down on the floor, "Please Mrs. Foutley, can we take a break? My tummy is hurting."

Lois nodded, it was going to be difficult to find someone, if they were going to find anyone. The all sat down on some nearby rocks, even Courtney did not complain when it came to sitting on, what she would have otherwise labeled _filthy rocks_.

A stomach growled loudly and all eyes turned to Ginger, "Sorry guys. My stomach's running on empty; I didn't eat dinner last night, or rather…last last night I guess. So I'm really hungry." Ginger tenderly pat her stomach, absentmindedly; the hunger was starting to get to her.

"Wait Ging, I thought you ate my spaghetti and meatballs dinner last night."

"Heh, yea sorry mom, Carl wanted a second helping, so he poured some orange juice into my plate. I didn't get to eat it," her stomach growled again at the memory and she hunched over and rubbed it, "so my stomach's running on low, or rather nothing, right now."

Miranda scoffed, "Nice, so none of us have any food running through us right now." Lois could hear everyone's stomach roar up, agreeing to Miranda's statement, "Man my stomach could really use anything right now, even Carl's weird concoctions."

Ginger laughed, "I don't think anyone would be willing to eat anything Carl makes." Lois laughed along.

"Well ha ha, I'm happy you guys are happy, but that doesn't help our current predicament." Courtney flipped her hair again, "Our stomachs are still running on low." Her stomach growled in agreement and she pat it gentler than she had the past couple of days; there was no use in hurting herself, she found.

"My belly," Miranda was now lightly bumping her head on a tree, "I swear if I don't get food soon I'm going to hurt someone." Her gut wrenched and roared, but, unfortunately for Miranda, all she could do was rub it in an attempt to quell its anger.

Lois stood up, "Alright girls, we should get moving, it'll get dark soon and we don't have the car with us right now." Lois continued walking with the girls for a couple more taxing and grueling hours.

"Are we there yet?" Courtney exclaimed, "My feet hurt," her stomach growled, upset that Courtney had forgotten about her, "oh yea, and my tummy too. Is there any food nearby Mrs. Foutley?"

Courtney began rubbing her stomach as Lois looked around trying to find food, "Well, we could try hunting for something, but I don't think we would get very far."

"Not only do we not know how to hunt, but we don't know how to skin it, cook it, and I don't think any of you would be willing to do it let alone know how." Miranda started ranting off reasons why hunting was out of the question. Although Ginger, Lois, and herself were not rich and pampered like Courtney, they still never encountered a situation where it was necessary to learn how to hunt for your own food.

It was now Ginger's stomach's turn to growl, and growl it did. It sounded upset and angry that there was still no possibility for food. Ginger did the only thing she could do, and rubbed it, "My stomach doesn't seem to have much time left mom. We have to find food soon or I'm scared we'll starve."

Lois pat Ginger's head reassuringly, "Don't worry Ging, we humans can go days without food, we'll be okay for about a week or so, it's water I'm worried about."

"**A WEEK?!**" Courtney screamed, "There's no way we will last that long Mrs. Foutley! My stomach is eating itself alive as we speak!" Her stomach roared, and Courtney went back to hitting it to quiet it down, "Quiet Tummy what did I tell you yesterday?!"

"Calm down Courtney, I said we could last that long, not that we were going to go that long without food."

Courtney calmed down a small bit.

"Besides, at this rate, we should try to find some shelter; it's starting to get late out now." Truth be told, there was probably some berries or some leaves that the kids could have eaten, but Lois didn't want to risk it; she was a nurse, not a botanist.

The girls walked for a few minutes more and stumbled upon a cave, "What about this mom?" Ginger yelled out from the inside of a rather deep cave.

Just then, Ginger's stomach started to growl and it echoed loudly throughout the entire cave. Ginger blushed with embarrassment and rubbed her stomach, "It should be emptier than our bellies are right now. If…that's even possible."

Lois walked into the cave beside Ginger, and Miranda and Courtney followed suit, "This will work fine Ging, it'll keep us dry and warm for the night." The girls picked a corner of the cave and each claimed the corner for their own.

The girls got less sleep this night than they did the previous night; with the echoing of the cave walls, their growling stomachs' noise ricocheted off the cave walls and rose their volume simultaneously.

Ginger woke up multiple times, "Ugh, my stomach is so empty I need food," she would toss and turn on the already stiff cave floor, which was much rougher and harder to sleep on than the cushions in her mom's car. Courtney rubbed her stomach, and Miranda could be heard cursing slight at how her stomach was twisting and turning more than Ginger.

Lois tried to keep a straight and strong front for the girls, but even she was succumbing to the hunger. Her stomach growled louder than the girls and she rubbed it as furiously as she could to quiet the echoes down, "Man, if I need to go another day without food in our stomachs I think I might just keel over."

The next morning the girls woke up with less of a start than yesterday; the girls were starting to get used to the hunger, but that did not make it any easier for them to deal with it.

Courtney crawled up to Lois, "Mrs. Foutley, we'll find something to eat won't we? We'll get to eat food today? I don't know how much more abuse my belly can take; I need food in it before it decides it doesn't want to be a part of me anymore!"

Lois pat her head, then her own growling stomach as she winced from the hunger, "No guarantees Courtney, but if my belly has anything to say about this, it's that we will find food whether the universe wants us to or not. Our stomachs are far too empty for us to climb anything," Lois looked up at the hill that was before them; she hadn't noticed the hill in the dark last night, but, if they were going to get any help, the best place to go would be up since they fell down a hill.

"What about that Mrs. Foutley?" Miranda pointed to a dirt road on the other side of cave, "We could use that dirt road over there."

"Brilliant idea Miranda! Let's go," her stomach growled again and she pat it roughly, "before our empty stomachs cause us to do otherwise."

The four of them walked up the dirt road exhausted by their hunger, and agitated by their lack of sleep the night before and the night prior to that one.

"Are we there yet Mrs. Foutley? "

"No Courtney," Lois' stomach growled angrily, and Lois pat it, "It's alright tummy I'll get some food into your empty room soon."

"Are we there yet Mrs. Foutley?"

"No Courtney…"

"What about now?"

"No, Courtney, we weren't there the first time you said it, and we won't be there the fiftieth time you've said it!"

"No need to be rude Miranda; I'm just asking." Silence befell the group, Miranda's stomach started to growl, as did Lois' and the two of them pat their stomachs.

"Aw man, Mrs. Foutley are you sure that we can last a week without food? Cause I feel like my stomach is going to eat itself and I'm going to collapse!" Miranda trudged on, slightly dragging her feet as she walked up the dirt path.

"I'm sure Miranda. I'm sorry girls, you know, for crashing the car and all. I'll treat you guys to a nice big meal when we get to a diner, how does that sound?"

"Right now Mrs. Foutley, that sounds like the best apology in the world." Courtney gripped her roaring stomach tighter, "It sounds like my tummy agrees, still empty though."

The girls shared a small laugh. Perhaps it was the morning sun, or perhaps it was the discovery of the dirt road, but they certainly felt more light hearted than they had yesterday.

"Man I really wish that I had food in my belly."

"You wish you had food? At least you got to eat dinner a few nights ago Courtney, I didn't get to eat anything since Carl ate my dinner."

"I just wish we all had food Ginger. My stomach is killing me with how hungry it is. Mrs. Foutley?" Lois looked towards Courtney as her stomach growled. The girls all seemed to have a distinguishable stomach growl; Courtney's was petite and light, Miranda's was stern and angry, and Ginger's was shy and mellow, "Yes Courtney?"

"Do you think we can take another break, please? My stomach is starting to hurt again." Courtney's stomach gave a loud bellowing growl as she rubbed it, "I don't know if I can keep going at this pace Mrs. Foutley, my stomach is running on empty."

The other two girls nodded in agreement, it looks like everyone was at their wits end; they could use a break.

Lois nodded and they all sat down on the road. Courtney started to pat her stomach again, "My tummy feels like it shrunk at least a few inches. I mean, just look at it," Courtney lifted up her shirt. Indeed her stomach looked to be at least a couple inches slimmer than usual, "I don't know how much longer I can stand."

"I know what you mean," Ginger started to pat her stomach, "it even sounds like a drum when I hit it." Ginger, to emphasize, began to pat her stomach to an indiscernible rhythm, "It really does feel like it's been hollowed out."

Miranda's stomach growled, "I bet you I'm hungrier than the both of you put together." As if to emphasize the point, Miranda lifted up her shirt slightly to show her shrunken stomach, "My belly feels so empty right now I feel like it's going to implode!"

Lois laughed, "I don't think that it's scientifically possible for your stomach to implode Miranda, but I think I'm much hungrier than any of you are." She pat her roaring stomach, "I swear I must have lost ten pounds already. With how empty my belly feels, I feel like I can fly!"

Courtney rubbed her stomach, "Oh what I wouldn't do to have one of Winston's delicious Crème Brule dishes! That would fill up my empty tummy," Courtney looked down at her stomach, "You'd like that wouldn't you." Her gut purred in response.

"Come on Courtney, stop talking about food! You're making my stomach growl even louder."

"Sorry Ginger, but on the bright side, this is a great diet plan," Courtney ran her hand down her flat belly, "I mean just look at how much our stomachs have shrunken. I don't think I've ever been this thin before."

"I think I would still rather have food." Miranda's stomach roared in agreement. She rubbed her stomach to keep it quiet, "Man, what I wouldn't do for a cheeseburger or a shake right about now, or even a delicious chicken sandwich."

"Miranda!" Ginger's stomach growled louder at the mention of food. Rubbing her belly, she proceeded to scold her, "Come on guys, stop talking about food, you're making my stomach feel even more vacant that it already is." Ginger rubbed her stomach so more in an attempt to quiet down the rumbles.

"Oh lighten up Ging," Lois pat Ginger's head, "We're all hungry, but comparing our hunger is a nice way to pass the time. I mean it's something right?"

"I don't think so," Ginger muttered, she was hungry enough as it was, and talking about their hunger only made her more agitated. Her stomach growled again and she rubbed it a little harder than usual, "It makes my stomach feel like it's more empty than it already is! I mean, why can't we pass the time with I Spy or something?"

All four of the girls' stomachs growled again as if in protest at the idea of playing I Spy, "Mrs. Foutley, are tummies usually this loud?"

"Not usually Courtney, but we haven't eaten in a few days, so it's normal for our stomachs to be this noisy."

"I don't know how much more of this I can take Mrs. Foutley, I need food now or I don't think my stomach and I will be able to make it to the end of the dirt road!" Miranda looked close to tears. Her stomach was growling louder than ever, and no amount of rubbing or patting on Miranda's part would quiet the beast inside of her stomach.

Lois walked over and pat Miranda's shoulder, "I know, and I'm sorry girls, but right now we have to keep moving. We won't get anywhere by just sitting around and doing nothing."

"Just a few more minutes Mom? I really don't think I can move right now with how hollow my stomach feels." Ginger pat her stomach as it growled again.

Ginger attempted to make the situation lighter, "Hey Miranda, I bet my stomach can roar louder than yours can!"

Miranda scoffed, "Yea right Foutley." Miranda's stomach growled, whether in protest or as a challenge to Ginger's stomach, it caused Ginger's stomach to growl louder as well.

"Ooo, I think Ginger's is louder Miranda." The two girls pat their stomachs, "I told you Miranda, my stomach is emptier than yours!"

Miranda pat her stomach and let out a dry chuckle, "Ha, yeah yeah Foutley, so maybe you are hungrier."

Just then, a loud roar made the girls turn around, "Woah, I think Mrs. Foutley just beat the two of you."

Lois pat her stomach as it growled louder, "Ha ha, alright girls, alright. This isn't a competition to see whose hungrier than whom. But if it was, I think we'd know I'd win most emptiest stomach award!"

The girls shared a small laugh, there was only so much that the girls could do on an empty stomach, and laughing loudly was not one of them. The girls got up and started to walk again.

"Mrs. Foutley, I'm positively starving. I really don't think my tummy could take any more neglect. Just look at how small it has gotten! I think it's shrinking more and more by the second!" Courtney's stomach growled even louder and she started patting it vigorously in anger, "Quiet tummy!"

"I'm sorry girls, but hopefully we'll find some food for us to eat soon. You'll see, you just have to keep your hopes up." Lois shook her head, even she was having difficulty believing in her own words at this point; it had just become very difficult for her to keep the kids spirits up when all of them felt like their stomachs would tear themselves open.

For the next few minutes, only the sound of the girls' stomachs roaring could be heard. It usually went in order from Courtney's stomach roaring, she would pat her stomach, and then she would talk about how her, "Poor belly," needed something to eat. Then Miranda's stomach would growl even louder than Courtney's, she would smack her stomach rather roughly and scream out, "If I have to go another minute like this I think my stomach is going to start eating the rest of my body! My belly is so empty!"

Ginger's was usually after. Her stomach would roar the loudest of the three young girls, but she'd rub it the most gently, "I really could go for some food right now. I don't think I can take having my stomach this empty for much longer."

Lois would usually be the last one to have her stomach rumble, but she took it the strongest out of the four; she tried to keep a strong front in order to stay strong for the girls. She would slam her hand on her stomach, "Man my stomach is getting empty."

"Hey Mom, I think we should start a band, like the Starving Bellies or something." Ginger started hitting her empty stomach, and the other girls, even Miranda, followed suit.

"As if we need our stomachs to be even louder than they already are Foutley. I feel like if I keep hitting it my stomach is going to shrink even more than it already has."

Miranda was slowly getting more and more agitated. On a full stomach, Miranda was difficult to deal with, but after two and a half days without food, Miranda was about to explode.

"We'll be fine girls," Lois started, "I won't let anything happen to you all." All their stomachs growled at that moment. Lois looked down to her stomach and gave it one good hard smack, "I get it! You're hungry! Enough with the yelling belly."

The girls began to laugh at the hilarity of the scene; here was a grown woman arguing with her own stomach, "Mom, you might want to be careful," Ginger gave another small giggle, "I think it's going to lunge at you."

"Ha ha, Ging. Well hopefully my stomach will stay a bit quieter now, though I can't blame it for crying out, just look how much smaller my stomach is now than it was three days ago."

Courtney's stomach started to growl. She rubbed it and stood up, "I think we better find food now. I don't know how much longer I'll be able to do anything with my stomach being this empty."

The girls agreed, it was better to walk now while they had a little energy left, than wait until they've run out of all their energy talking.

They reached the end of the road and what they found caused Courtney to fall onto her knees, "**A DINER!**"

The four of them felt a new found energy as they ran towards the diner. Their stomachs growled in excitement, and, instinctively, they all pat their stomachs, "Don't worry," Lois started, "you're not going to be empty for much longer!"


End file.
